What does Fields of Gold mean?

Sting: Fields of Gold Meaning

Album cover for Fields of Gold album cover

Song Released: 1993


Fields of Gold Lyrics

You'll remember me when the west wind moves
Upon the fields of barley
You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we walk in the fields of gold

So she took her love
For to gaze awhile
Upon the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 22nd 2014 !⃝

    It’s the most beautiful song I ever heard.

    In my opinion, the song is about a couple whose love is endless and so deep, that even the sky is jealous of the perfect love. But, he died long time ago and she, as an old woman now, returns to the place, the fields of gold, where they once were so happy together.
    “You’ll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley” Here, her dead boyfriend who’s the narrator as well “talks” to her because she has returned to the physical place. And with all the love in her heart and the bittersweet memories because she lost him years ago, she stands amid the fields of gold for to gaze awhile, to remember the wonderful time she spent with him.

    The narrator (her beloved man) now asks her to stay with him, to be his love, as in earlier times. The west wind is like a lover now in his role as knell because when she dies, the two, finally, can stay together forever.

    “We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky as we lie in fields of gold”. During that time, they only lived for the moment forgetting everything around them and they enjoyed every second they had together.
    With the mentioned kiss her body rises physically as in earlier times, when the couple made love in the fields, but now, it is her soul that very soon will rise to heaven where her beloved man waits for her.
    The west wind symbolises her death soon to come(the sun goes also down in west), and she knows it. He is actually calling her to join him. It also symbolises the circle of life.

    Of course, he regrets his broken promises and would do everything much better if he could turn back time. “He will walk (only) in fields of gold with her if there would be some time left on earth.”
    I think, the first part of the last passage is written from her point of view. Now, she tells him that many years have passed since they were so lucky. There are real children - not her own - running around in the fields of barley while the sun goes down (her life on earth is going to end soon), and this "picture" symbolises the cycle of life and death again. With the last three lines he again speaks to her that she needn’t fear anything because neither time nor death can touch their love.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 29th 2012 !⃝

    I agree everyone can relate to the lyrics of this song, for me it relates to my Dad, it played in the background as he slipped away, and for me it was my childhood with him, hay bayling, being out in the counrty, we often walked in fields of gold, as a child playing under his watchful eye, he made promises he couldnt keep through not being able to express his emotion and his illness. I scattered his ashes on the farmland he grew up on...yes in a field of gold.
    As weird as it might be I can now also relate this to my relationships, and love, often walking in a barley feild hand in hand, watching as it has grown andturned to gold over the months

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 26th 2011 !⃝

    I don't think this song needs interpretation. It is beautiful song about nostalgia of old days, love and hope that it is not over yet:
    "But I swear in the days still left
    We'll walk in the fields of gold"

  4. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    May 5th 2023 !⃝

    On my beloved grandmother's funeral day, I remember having this song on my ipod..and as soon as I played it, images of my grandparents walking in the countryside appeared on my mind. It was my grandma's sign that she was okay and that she had reconnected with my grandad and it was then that I realised that my grandad listened to me when I asked him to come and meet grandma (he was probably waiting for her ) and so he did. Needless to say that this song always brings tears to my eyes, but I also find solace.

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Sep 25th 2021 !⃝

    I agree this is one of the best songs of love ever written. I am reminded of Danny Boy, also written to celebrate a love so great it follows us to the grave.

    My own wife just passed away last January. I came across a picture of her when she was possibly in her late teens. She was, and always will be, devastatingly beautiful, and had long blond hair. I can imagine the sight of her so pretty she could make heaven itself jealous.

    Your interpretation will suit your experience and memories, but it will speak of your own experiences with love in the past present and in times long after we are here

  6. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 10th 2020 !⃝

    I love these words, written by Sting, but also beautifully sung by Eva Cassidy. We can all make our own personal interpretations of this song, which is why it can touch the hearts of so many. With the poetic lyrics, and haunting melody, Eva Cassidy sings it to perfection.

  7. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 16th 2020 !⃝

    For me in our more than 50 years of a wonderful marriage, it talks about the years when we have done things together, and raised our children, the fields of barley, and there were those fields of gold, precious, beautiful moments of a beautiful fulfilling love. The last verse is the one which speaks most to me - many years have passed, we see our children happy and busy In their chosen lives and as our sun goes down, we treasure all those times when we walked in fields of gold. We walked in fields of gold.

  8. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Sep 18th 2019 !⃝

    , the song is about a couple whose love is endless and so deep,But, he died long time ago and she, as an older woman now, returns to the place, the fields of gold, where they once were so happy together.
    “You’ll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley” Here, her dead boyfriend who’s the narrator as well “talks” to her because she has returned to the physical place. And with all the love in her heart and the bittersweet memories because she lost him years ago,as she remember the wonderful time she spent with him. He wanted to make her promises but died young and was never able too.they shared a connection even tho he parted from this world.he watches her from the jealous sky as they once walked the fields of gold. Another part of the song,see the children’s run” children she had with someone else but she always wondered what life would be like if he was still here.She feels him as the wind blows and the sun warms her skin she sees him in the heaven sky.as another man will make promises to her and keep them,now he watches them from the jealous sky and the jealous sun. he can feel her body rise as the other man kisses her mouth he knows she found true love again,but she’ll always remember him.It’s about losing a innocent love and years later finding it again But the new love gives her everything he wanted too. He sees them happy and filled with passion and love and now they walk the fields of gold

  9. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jan 1st 2019 !⃝

    Fields Of Gold, classic voice and classic video.

    For the latest comment, sorry to hear about your husband. I’m not sure if you are the same woman who made a post on the song Drive. Congratulations for being with him that long. Happy to hear this song is meaningful and beautiful to you.

    Have a Happy New Year!

    - Browser mostly 2013-2018

  10. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Dec 31st 2018 !⃝

    This song became very meaningful to me when my husband of 33 years was dying of cancer. To me, it speaks of our time together here on earth and the promise of being together in heaven when I pass. Beautiful song.

  11. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Sep 25th 2018 !⃝

    This is such a beautiful song that personally reminds me of a time when my two best friends and myself were dancing and singing obnoxiously to cotton eye joe in a wheat field in Spain. Last week I was at one of their funerals. This song feels like we were being watched and these moments of bliss, silliness and friendship were recorded and made immortal. Taken too soon, but never forgotten by your Adventure Team. I love you Vicky. xx

  12. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 19th 2018 !⃝

    Today I read the Fields of Gold lyrics for the first time. I always like this beautiful song. My hearing is poor so I never knew all of the words. As with most songs I have interpret or fill in some of the real lyrics, Sting's are much better than I could ever have dreamed. Now I know.

  13. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 3rd 2017 !⃝

    In Lyrics By Sting, the singer described the view from his sixteenth-century Wiltshire manor house:

    "In England, our house is surrounded by barley fields, and in the summer it's fascinating to watch the wind moving over the shimmering surface, like waves on an ocean of gold. There's something inherently sexy about the sight, something primal, as if the wind were making love to the barley. Lovers have made promises here, I'm sure, their bonds strengthened by the comforting cycle of the seasons."[4]

    Yes, moving on is a slow process for some and fast process for some.

    He moved on very fast and he lives like I didn't exist or we didn't cross paths and I can see clearly that he is very happy with his world.

    Self

  14. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 3rd 2017 !⃝

    We all interpret the world from our own perceptions that are filtered by our experiences.
    For me, the song is the expression of a man looking back on his regret for breaking his promise to the woman. He longs to return to her and walk in fields of gold but knows that it will not happen. The world has moved on and children now run in the fields of gold.

  15. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jan 1st 2017 !⃝

    For me this evokes wistful memories of beautiful relationships that are no more, whether from death or simply falling apart. When I think of the better parts of those relationships I always remember walking in fields of gold, forgetting the sun in its jealous sky, only the other person and me, experiencing total, beautiful intimacy. I've had this three times - maybe 3 and a half. Fortunately I'm married to one of the three women, but I so wish I had two other lives to experience forever with the other two women what I still am occasionally able to experience with my wife - not because she is any less exciting or beautiful but because of the things in everyday life that drag us down when we let them. The feelings and memories the lines of this song evoke are just amazing. And - I don't want to offend anyone here - I am generally NOT a fan of Sting or The Police - they just never were my style and never grabbed me. But this song - he pulled everything in that he needed and did it perfectly.

  16. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 18th 2016 !⃝

    Its a beautiful love song.

  17. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Dec 19th 2014 !⃝

    I relate this to my ex-bf...we met in the summer of 1999, when we graduated from high school. for some reason we are not together, but in my heart, and i belive in his, we never forget each other. but many years have past, we are not yougn anymore, those beautiful days,we can't go back to, only live in dreams. it's been 10 years since the last phone call we made in 2004. Since then I met him once, but i just looked at him passing by(with a woman), me sitting in the taxi... the year 2007.. That day, i was going to engage with another man,now my husband. That is really life's joke.
    This song is the most beautiful song i've ever heard.

  18. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 24th 2012 !⃝

    This is a couple who took vows in a second marriage. The first vows are the promises broken. They make love in the fields of gold. Years later their children play in the fields. Their promise has been kept.

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